Page 68 of Alpha Bait

At first, I had no misgivings. The house was a large countryside mansion, perhaps a friend of his. The place was gorgeous and well kept, with a rose garden. The mansion could have been ten thousand things without ringing any alarm bells. I saw no reason to expect the worse.

The presence of just that one other car with its nagging familiarity was what set me on edge. My brother's shifting mood did nothing to help any suspicions of him that may have been developing.

The large black wooden doors with burnished brass door handles beckoned for us to knock. Another owl hooted and then a coyote howled. The howl was loud, the animal sounded close. I had never heard such a creature make such a noise up close before. Gooseflesh prickled over my arms and I wrapped my coat around my waist tighter, my impatience evolving into vexation.

"Knock on the door," I grumbled.

My brother seemed unperturbed by the possibility that we might get eaten out here by whatever wild creatures lurked about the forest. He slowly raised his fist and rapped on the door exactly twice with delicate knocks.

"We're expected," he assured me.

I heard shuffling inside, but that did nothing to quell my fears that I would immediately be gobbled up by some forest creature within a few moments. My heart raced in my chest until I heard the handle on the front door creaking open.

My feelings of relief were premature and when I saw who posted on the other side of that door, I knew that I was in big trouble.

"Good evening, Indie," Will Harkness whispered into the darkness with his weathering almost high-pitched voice.

The doors swung open. I turned back to look at my brother, fury in my eyes and he revealed a coy smile. He had planned this all along.

Will Harkness was far too old for me, and he stood at around my height. He was bald with a few patches of silver-ish hair on the left and right side of his lightbulb shaped head. He wore spectacles, ones that were too large for his face and perfectly round. The lenses were so thick that his eyes were magnified to nearly 4 times their size.

His eyes were blue, but his pupils were so large you could barely detect the cerulean color of his iris.

Will Harkness carried his spindly frame with dignity. He always dressed as if he were about to have a board meeting. Even now, in the twilight hours, and at his countryside mansion, he donned the most formal attire.

He smiled at me with a distinctive glee that sent chills down my spine.

"I brought her, just as I promised."

I turned to look at my brother but he refused to meet my tortured facial expression. He stared forward at Will Harkness, with a stern, unflinching, forward gaze.

"Thank you," Will whispered, his Earl Grey scented breath floating on the breeze.

"What is going on here?" I snapped.

"As I advised," Jamal said cryptically, nodding at Will.

Before I could react, Will Harkness wrapped his arms around me squeezing my arms close to my chest. I wriggled instinctively and kicked against him. Despite his weak appearance, he was too strong for me. As his muscles tensed around me like a boa constrictor, I knew my resistance was futile.

I still had to try.

"Let me go! Let me go!" I screeched into the night.

My brother chuckled.

"I need to head back to the city tonight. She'll have no choice but to behave. There's nothing around here for 20 miles besides coyotes. Good luck. She can be stubborn."

Will Harkness grunted as I made the work of restraining me more difficult with more screaming and kicking.

He still managed to grunt out himself to my brother, "nothing but coyotes and hunters. You're right. I can handle it."

I continued to kick and I yelled until my lungs could no longer hold onto enough breath to do so. I watched my brother enter his Mercedes and drive away, leaving me at the mercy of Will Harkness.

Once my brother was safely out of sight, and not even his tail lights were visible from the porch, Will let me go. I'd met him once or twice before and then, he'd never impressed me. The same held true. He might have me here as his prisoner, but whatever he'd planned with my brother wouldn't happen. I'd rather die than allow it.

I crumpled to my knees, weak from screaming and from kicking against his frame.

"It will do you no good to run. You'll only die."

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